THE City Government is partnering with a university here to look after the city's street families and allow them to undergo a 6-month program for them to have a chance of getting a better life.
A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed on Tuesday, September 18, between the city and Lourdes College executives on the Oro Alagang Pamilya Project for the homeless street families in Cagayan de Oro.
Norhidaya Dhada Hadji Sarip, focal person for Homeless Families of the City Social Welfare and Development said this is the third year now since the program has started, but the MOA makes the program bigger as it will involve social work students to cater to more families.
She said the identified families, mostly coming from Cogon and Carmen markets are transferred from the streets to a transient home where they will undergo the program under the guidance of the social workers.
Over the years, the former street families now have jobs while street children who used to ask alms are now studying after undergoing the program.
"We really just want them to have a better chance at life and introduce to them a lot of opportunities for their families. We will make them understand that living in the streets should not be an option for these families," City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a said.
According to the CSWD, it has recorded a total of 30 street families in the city.
The program specifically engages parental session, aiming to reeducate the parents on their parenting skills.
"We have to answer the question ngano nga ang atong mga bata naa sa dalan, because certainly there is a problem on how parents are handling their kids, we need to change that by educating them," Sarip said, adding that because of intervention, the CSWD noted the decrease of street children in the city streets.
For his part, City Mayor Oscar Moreno said the program is part of the city government's campaign to give better lives to the constituents by giving them the best services.
"We appreciate this very much, this gives us chance to learn, gives us a chance to know where we are and where we should go, beneficiaries will be served hopefully the best way possible," Moreno said.
"Social work is the most encompassing work of all, everything is a part of social work, you cannot separate government work to social work. I look forward towards changing the lives of these families, you know I've always been a believer that one should be given a chance, we should never give up on them," he added.